You know people smile when remembering Jim Carlson

Jim Carlson

Fan mail from some flounder: First, I'll quote here an email from a fellow UMM advocate, someone like me who believes our long-term memory of all things UMM is important. "Good for you, on remembering Jim (Carlson). Talk about a guy with a positive attitude, that was Jim." 

  

Might the years be passing by faster that I realize? Rhetorical question. Big stuff from past epochs in this town's history can start to fade. Jim Carlson's UMM Jazz Festival at its height was boffo. 

Here's another email I received just this morning (Sunday) from my Bonanza Valley friend: "Hello Brian, very sad to read that Doc Carlson passed away. I so enjoyed being in his jazz band for one year. Damn that was a blast." 

  

The best kind of testimonial, right? From someone who had a student perspective. So we remember the days when various communities would send their band kids to Morris. We saw the school buses around town. The event happened right at the cusp of springtime. It's all past tense as I remind of such things. Does it have to be like this? 

The pandemic was bound to bring a pause, regardless of how UMM was choosing to allocate resources. The 2021 Jazz Fest was canceled. Did this cause all the air to go out of the tires, as it were? Did the interruption cause the Fest to fade as a priority among UMM's decision makers? 

Bob Bruininks

I'll tell you someone who would always choose to keep the priority high: Robert "Bob" Bruininks. On the chance that Dr. Bruininks had not gotten word of Jim's death yet, I emailed him last week. Truly he has been a prime leader in the U of M firmament. He is a past U president. I covered his visit here once when he wore a UMM Jazz Fest T-shirt under a sport coat. He went out of his way to praise the Fest. He responded to my email:

 

Hi Brian,

Thank you for sharing this sad news about the unexpected death of Jim Carlson. We often traveled to UMM for the jazz festival. It was one of the highlights in my tenure and Jim was one of my favorite UMM professors, among many others, on this inspiring University of Minnesota Campus. In my last year as President, we attended often with Regent Dallas and Joannie Bohnsack, very enthusiastic jazz patrons. Dallas and Joannie traveled to jazz concerts frequently in the U.S. and abroad. I enthusiastically supported the Jazz Fest and was deeply honored when the Campus and Chancellor Johnson presented me with a framed copy of Take Five, one of my favorites, now hanging proudly in my home office.

 

Close eyes, remember applause

Looks like I served a purpose with my journalism in connection with Jim's tragic death. The sadness of the death is accompanied by robust memories springing back, like how the audience at Edson responded so lustily to the jazz pieces each year, to each and every solo in fact! The enthusiasm was irresistible. 

I continue to use past tense, unfortunate naturally. How can we let such a good thing slip away? Unfortunately, as far as our community of Morris is concerned, a pattern is developing. We have lost several events or traditions that were once important just because of the "people traffic." I remember when MAHS Tiger sports along with other area teams had post-season games at the UMM P.E. Center. What a "crowd" phenomenon that was, like with the Wheaton community showing up en masse from the west, seemingly everyone wearing red, and creating, well, pandemonium. 

These days, Tiger basketball heads south for the post-season. A parent explained to me about the loss of the huge crowd phenomenon: Today there are so many activities, parents (and other boosters) get spread out. 

Hancock girls basketball used to fill the P.E. Center just like the Wheaton girls. To be honest, I'd sometimes feel a little unsettled by the pandemonium nature of it all. Pep bands could be loud. Emotions often struck me as excessive. But these were phenomena where people simply assembled in large numbers.

The trend here has been away from this, thus we have said goodbye to the once-big midsummer fest that enlivened our community, was once a symbol of pride for us: Prairie Pioneer Days. Some profound things must have happened in our culture, society or economy to have something like PPD just die on the vine. 

Oh, and a source tells me the UMM Jazz Fest is done, it is nixed permanently. I'm sure Dr. Bruininks would be disconsolate about that. Might he use his "clout" to perhaps accomplish a reversal with this?

 

Remember Les? 

At this moment I'm thinking of the wisdom of the late Les Lindor. Lindor, who was associated with the institution now known as the WCROC, said it's always tempting for people who run academic institutions to think of "cutting." Let's cut this, or that. Always have an eye on the budget. I know that even when the Jazz Fest was still fairly strong, there were financial issues in connection with it. Well damn it, you can't take it with you. 

Cut some programs with the idea of making others stronger? Not so simple, as Lindor pointed out that all programs have a constituency, a constituency that can be helpful for the institution getting funding. Do not disregard the wisdom of ol' Les. I visit the grave marker of Les and Virginia Lindor every Memorial Day weekend. (Oh, and they were our neighbors.)

Another "people" event that has died here is the Community Thanksgiving Dinner. 

Are we all just "hunkering down" in the year 2022? Just taking care of No. 1? Will the pandemic have a permanent effect of exacerbating? Let me just state my opinion: I hope not. Just as we could not have predicted the retreat from so many big gatherings of humanity, maybe we should not rule out their triumphant comeback. 

A scene that should be kept alive (UMM image)

The Jazz Fest? Its chemistry was once right-on. Look at how the event stimulated the enthusiasm of someone like Dr. Bruininks along with many others. 

I shared some concerns about the current trend with Jim Morrison of the Morrison family. The Jazz Fest was a celebration of the performing facility that bears the Morrison name. Edson Auditorium is within that facility. You might say the Jazz Fest was the pride and joy of the Edson/Morrison venue, right in the middle of campus. Now the Fest is apparently gone with the wind. I hear this on good authority. 

My source also indicated that UMM has become frugal with music discipline resources. Word is, Dusty Retzlaff was almost lined up to take over jazz for the rest of this academic year. Would have been wonderful arrangement, even with Jazz Fest having gone kaput. But there was a problem: a low-ball compensation offer, reportedly. "Dusty" withdrew, so now we're looking at an NDSU grad student doing the job. Who I'm sure is a wonderful person. But it was option No. 2, alas. 

Remember what Les Lindor said: Keep your programs propped up and with as much vitality as you can inject, because this is the real key in the long run to keeping budgets and resources healthy. You have to perform! You cannot "cut" your way to budget health, except maybe in the very short term.

 

Downbeat note

The frugality has not kept UMM from hiring Sue Dieter, a development I truly bemoan. That's just promo and PR, of doubtful value even in that narrow context. Sue was with Forum Communications in its ill-fated stint in Morris, and then with Congressman Collin Peterson in his ill-fated effort to keep his position. Memo to UMM: you cannot "sell" your way to success in academia, you have to perform. Sometimes that takes money. You may get a rude reminder of that down the road. 

 

Yours truly, proud scribe

Again, I am pleased to have been of service rendering my journalism in the cause of reminding of Jim Carlson's legacy. Unfortunately his death was the catalyst for this, but what wonderful memories we can sort through. None of us can escape death. In Jim's case it was unexpected: a cerebral hemorrhage on Christmas Eve. 

Take a look at my journalism and compare it to the dearth of attention on the matter in the Morris commercial media: radio/newspaper. And to think some people thought I was washed-up! Those people will not even be convinced at the present time that I have anything positive to offer. To them I can only say: go sit under a cow. I will say they are great at partying. I am not.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com